Ahead of the awards ceremony, which takes place this Sunday at the spectacular Guildhall located in the heart of London, we caught up with Julie to see how her nerves are holding up.

Julie, who was nominated for the same award in 2012 and 2013, says: “I’m very excited. I’m much more calm this year than I have been previously, and I think that’s because there’s so many of the Zen girls going down to London.

“Whereas previous years were all about the awards, this year there’s a much better atmosphere as it’s more about the night and the excitement surrounding it.

“I also feel that the judging process went much better this year, so I’m definitely not as nervous.”

Talking of the judging, the Professional Beauty Awards judges are looking for a therapist who excels at customer focus, is committed to their clients, offers superb aftercare and follow-up advice, and is great at both performing treatments and retailing.

Zen’s Best Beauty Therapist

Although we may be slightly biased, this sounds exactly like Julie, doesn’t it? So what was actually involved in the judging process?

Julie explains: “You have to perform a massage and a facial, and a thorough consultation with your client while the judges watch you.

“You then have to do an interview with seven judges, which is quite nerve-wracking, although I was much more prepared than previous years and I knew exactly what I wanted to say.

“Kieran helped me a lot with the preparation for the interview, and the judges said my personality came across very well – I actually got a little bit emotional!

“I’m confident that I’ve done the best I can do, and I just have to hope that I’ve done enough to win.”

We hope you have too Julie, and the whole team will have their fingers crossed for you. Regardless of whether Julie wins or not, she is the Therapist of the Year in our eyes!

If you are on Facebook or Twitter, remember to ‘Like’ us and follow us, so that you can wish Julie good luck, and also see some of our photos and videos from the awards ceremony.